A massive police search is continuing for the armed gang who stole at least £25m from a security depot in Kent. In what is thought to be Britain's biggest robbery, the manager, his family and 15 staff at Securitas were threatened and forced to co-opearate. Securitas staff at the depot in Tonbridge spent the night conducting an audit to assess how much was taken. The Governor of the Bank of England has called for a review of security arrangements for banknote storage. The gang first struck on Tuesday on the A249 near Stockbury, Maidstone, when two members posing as police officers persuaded the manager to pull over in his car. The manager got into their unmarked vehicle believing them to be police officers but was handcuffed. ... http://news.bbc.co.uk

Production at a lucrative gold mine in the Indonesian province of Papua has been suspended because of a demonstration by local illegal miners. Protesters, some armed with bows and arrows, have blocked a road leading to the mine complex, being protected by some 400 police and soldiers. Clashes between the two sides on Tuesday left two security guards injured. The US-owned facility is one of the world's largest gold and copper mines. But in recent years it has been mired in controversy. Local police contacted by the BBC say around 300 men, women and children have set up barricades across the road leading to the mine complex. Armed with bows, arrows and home-made spears, the protesters are demanding the right to continue their illegal mining in the area and say they will not leave until they have met the mine's boss. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4738480.stm

Gunmen have killed at least 11 people after entering a prison in the southern Iraqi city of Basra, police have said. They said all of the victims were believed to be Sunni militants, including several foreigners. The attack in the largely Shia city comes amid a wave of anger among Iraq's Shias over a bomb attack on one of their holiest shrines in Samarra. Iraqi President Jalal Talabani appealed for calm, and urged Iraqis to work together to avert a civil war. Police in Basra said the gunmen entered into the Mina prison, disarming the guards and seizing a group of suspected Sunni militants. The bodies of the inmates were later found in the city, amid reports that they had been tortured before being shot. Among the victims were Egyptian and Saudi nationals, police said. The gunmen were reportedly dressed as police officers and arrived to the prison in several vehicles. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4741762.stm

Vaccinating the UK's poultry is not currently needed as a precautionary measure against bird flu, many leading animal health experts say. Only if an outbreak occurs and other preventative strategies fail should the government consider the option, they told the BBC News website. Current bird flu vaccines do not offer complete protection from infection and could, in some circumstances, "hide" the virus in affected flocks, they believe. A government spokesperson said that, at present, vaccines were "not a path that they want to go down". "Vaccination offers potential benefits but currently available vaccines are too limited to provide a general solution," he added. The UK has not yet been struck by the virulent form of bird flu, H5N1; but ministers admit the chances of it arriving are increasing and have called for raised vigilance. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4737276.stm

Nearly 100 prisoners have died in US custody in Iraq and Afghanistan since August 2002, the Human Rights First organisation has said ahead of publication of a new report. At least 98 deaths occurred, with at least 34 of them suspected or confirmed homicides - deliberate or reckless killing - the group of US lawyers told BBC television on Tuesday. Their dossier claims that 11 more deaths are deemed suspicious and that between eight and 12 prisoners were tortured to death. However, charges are rare and sentences are light, the report said. The report comes a week after new photographs of alleged prisoner abuse at Baghdad's notorious US-run Abu Ghraib prison emerged. The report alleged that one person was made to jump off a bridge into the Tigris river in Iraq and another was forced inside a sleeping bag and suffocated. The number of deaths in custody discounts those due to fighting, mortar attacks or violence between detainees. ...http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/0049D873-A7CD-4FF9-8A1B-324E601A2B82.htm

US President George W Bush has urged India to separate its civilian and military nuclear programmes, ahead of his visit to Delhi next week. Speaking to the US-based Asia Society, Mr Bush said India needed to devise a "credible" plan to keep its US-aided civilian nuclear programme separate. He said: "It will take time and it will take patience from both our countries." India's desire to bar international inspectors from its "fast breeder" programme has worried Washington. Mr Bush said the agreement would help "strengthen the bonds of trust". "I'll continue to encourage India to produce a credible, transparent and defensible plan to separate its civilian and military nuclear programmes," he said. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4741192.stm